The present invention relates generally to a system and method for the use of an application tool to facilitate the viewing of normally hidden information in a multiple application window environment.
A windows type desktop such as IBM OS2 or MicroSoft Windows provides the user with substantial flexibility in managing the look of the desktop while interfacing with applications. Functions are provided that enable the desktop user to size application windows, move application windows, overlay application windows and to reduce application windows to icons. An application icon provides only the identification of the deployed application with no other information related to the application visible on the desktop. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a conventional display screen 25 containing desktop icons 15, an application window 20, a minimize button 10, a window reduction/enlargement button 12, a close button 14, an application title bar 16, an application tool bar 18, and scroll bars 22, 24. Application icons 28 are located in the taskbar 26.
Over the years, more and more applications are typically available for activation from the desktop. Generally users are also deploying an increasing number of applications that are concurrently in some state of execution. As this trend continues, even more flexibility for managing the desktop is needed to provide the user with the best productivity from her desktop system. More particularly, when information from two different application windows is needed, the desktop user is forced into one of several methods which can be time consuming and detrimental to her productivity. One such method involves reducing one or more applications to an icon such that the underlying application and information may be viewed. Another method involves selecting the icon representing the application (or selecting a portion of the application window if not completely covered) that contains the needed information as a means to bring that application window to the top of the desktop.
One problem with these methods is that they do not facilitate the viewing of information from multiple application windows concurrently. This problem becomes evident when dealing with overlapping application windows. FIG. 2 is illustrative of a situation involving a primary application window 30 and an overlapped application window 40. When there is a need for the simultaneous viewing of information contained in the windows 30, 40, the user must resize the corresponding application windows and arrange them on the desktop so as to make both sets of needed information simultaneously viewable. After viewing the needed information, the user typically resizes the application windows 30, 40 back to their original size to facilitate the easy viewing of each application windows without causing undue eyestrain. When all the user wants is a quick look at some information in one application for comparison or manipulation in the other application, the conventional methodology is a time consuming and annoying procedure.
Conventional methods exist where the user can cause the background of an application window to become transparent, however these methods lack the useful capability of varying the degree of transparency. Varying the degree of transparency facilitates keeping the xe2x80x9clook and feelxe2x80x9d of the primary application while still allowing the underlying information to show through to a degree necessary for legibility. Varying the degree of transparency allows the user to distinguish information from the primary application with the information from the underlying window.
What is needed is a method for viewing the contents of an application window that would otherwise be hidden. This will provide the user with the ability to quickly access needed information without having to undergo the time consuming process of resizing or rearranging desktop window configurations.
The present invention provides a method and system for viewing the contents of an application window that would otherwise be hidden. The method and system comprise displaying a plurality of application windows. The first application window of the plurality of application windows is the primary application window and a portion of another application window is being obscured by the primary application window. The method and system displays the primary application window at a variable degree of transparency based upon a user interaction.
Through the use of the present invention a user can simultaneously view information from multiple applications where one or more windows are partially or wholly covering needed information in an underlying application. This will provide the user with the ability to quickly access needed information without having to undergo the time consuming process of resizing or rearranging desktop window configurations.